Spiritual Support Systems

Whenever a family experiences a major event there is always a need for support systems.  Knowing where and who are a part of each system is just as important as the system itself!  Anything from the birth of a child, a major surgery, cancer, a disability or a death, all life events need a support system. 


Spiritual
 At the top of my list is my spiritual support system!  I believe in God.  I believe in Christ.  And I believe in the comforter, the Holy Ghost.  I also believe they are three seperate beings.  I also believe in eternal life or life after death.  The foundation on which I live my life, make my choices and the source of True happiness comes from this knowledge. 

Whatever your belief is... Spiritual support for the soul is vital.  Just as our bodies need food, water, shelter and love ( Maslows heiarchy of needs), I believe our spirit or our soul needs food, water, shelter and love.

Food for the soul.. you can often find those words on quotes or pinterest or feel good things like chicken noodle soup!  Food for the soul is a world of knowledge that testifies to you the beliefs that you have.  Knowledge, affirmations, and validations of your beliefs create a foundation.  Something solid on which you stand. 

When we go through experiences, or trials in our life we need to seek out the spiritual food our soul needs most.  Having a balance within ourselves will help us to carry on with more stability.  Now, I said to seek out spiritual food for your soul, this doesn't mean find a quote on pinterest that validates your experience or your thoughts or your feelings ( some of which may be negative.)  While we need to validate that we have these thoughts, feelings or experiences, spiritual food will help us to grow.  It won't tell us that we are always right.  Spiritual food may be exactly what you need in your life, not necessarily what you want.

In otherwords another way to phrase this is seek the "will" of God, rather than our own will.  Luke 22:42.

I believe that God knows what is best for us, he knows the wide expansion and future self that we are capable of.  Something that will far surpass who we are right now.  This expansion isn't something that can be measured in looks, wealth, money or social status, it isn't something that can be measured in "likes" or the amount of friends we have.  Wipe all of those expectations and quotas off the slate and list WHO we are.  Am I kind, Am I giving, Am I walking in my life the way the Savior did his?  When those expectations are measured we are better able to see the "Will of God."

During my experience of being a mom, raising kids, and navigating hearing loss in our family, I have learned that the Spiritual needs in my life far surpass other needs.  Therefore I needed a support system.  I chose individuals who had the same standards, same goals, same ideas as I had and I held those relationships close.  When I fell on hard times, stumbled or struggled it was these individuals whom I confided in for the spiritual support I needed.  Often times this was my mother, my stepmom and close friends who held the same standards of living that I did.

I would like to communicate this clearly that your support systems are your choice.  Some may feel that they are your support for one area or another but because their goals, ideas and standards do not align well with you or your perspective is different, this can cause a faulty foundation for spiritual support.  Spiritual support should not be that someone else is holding you together either. These support systems should enable you, coach you and teach you to do for yourself.  The ultimate goal here is to become more self reliant, not completely because we are all human and have needs, but when we falter, we need support coaches and support, not a crutch.

The savior and his example have been an foundation for man kind since the Days he walked the earth.  If you walk in a path of uncertainty, or you find yourself doubting or lost, alone or that something is just missing.  I want to encourage you to get to know your savior.  This can be done through Prayer.  Learn to Pray.  Learn the steps and how it works.  When I was little I use to pray that if God were real he would make the wind blow the trees right now.  (Yes I was demanding, I wanted to know.)  But prayer works in a different way.  I would like to refer you here, for the correct teachings of the patterns, ways, and knowledge of how prayer actually works.  Many Many talks have been written about this topic you can find them here.

One of my favorite lessons of Prayer came as I served as a Primary President.  It spoke about the patterns found in the Book of Mormon about prayer.  The book of mormon is another testimant of Christ.  It is followed by many rumors among those who do not believe what I believe.  However, I can easily attest that there is opposition in all things..  Those who read it will a willing heart to know if God really was involved in the translation of the Book of Mormon, they will have a personal testimony of the truthfulness as I have of it's teachings. 

Prayer is an essential when we speak about Spiritual Support Systems.  It is one that has no bias, it has no opinions, it has no difference in experiences when communicating with God.  Prayer can be done without having to explain what so and so said and what we feel misunderstandings there are.  In order to clearly express ourselves to another and clearly be understood all one needs to do is Pray.  This is a source of strength.  Patterns of Pray, can be studdied at this link.  No matter what spiritual beliefs you have or if you don't believe as I do, these teachings WILL help and you will find the strength you need to face the experiences in your life.

I know that God lives, I have found a foundation that has not been shaken.  I have lost my foothold in my own life at times and been able to come back to the knowledge that there is a God and that he knows me personally... time and time again.  There are times I feel my foundation was shaken only to realize it was me who has been shaken.  The foundation I created in the thigns I know of the gospel were always the same.  Constant and never changing.

 I am writing this blog and putting it together for my family and my children.  It is here to show what I have learned in my experiences, to be a source of strength to them.  That they may know what I stood for in word and deed.